What is a streetcar? And other downtown transportation updates

First, you should read this analysis of streetcar vs. light rail, and whether by definition they deserve to be compared to each other in the first place, by Express-News transportation reporter Vianna Davila. She talks with transportation experts and concludes that there is no conclusion  that the similarities and differences between streetcar and light rail are completely ambiguous.

This is relevant because Bexar County’s use of advanced transportation district funds to pay for a portion of the streetcar project is being challenged by light rail opponents, who say the two mode of transportation are the same thing.

 Meanwhile, there is the matter of streets in HemisFair Park and their resurrection and redesign. To give feedback on HemisFair streets, view and fill out the comment card (PDF) by clicking here.

 For a better understanding on where these projects stand, you might want to check out a replay of a meeting which addressed both projects at the same time.

Future public meetings are planned for these two projects. Whether they will be lumped together on the same night, or whether they will happen separate, has not been decided. But they are likely to happen in late April or early May. Of course, late April is Fiesta, and they have assured me they would not be dump enough to hold a public meeting in the middle of Fiesta.

For more information on both projects, contact Ximenes & Associates at sjimenez@xa-sa.com or (210) 354-2925.